Stretches to Help Your Feet!
As we ring in the new year, it’s a good time to think about how we treat ourselves and our bodies. Our feet get a lot of use, and it’s important to take good care of them to keep them – and ourselves – healthy and happy. Tight leg muscles can often cause problems with feet, and stretching often can help prevent problems down the road like plantar fasciitis. Here are some easy stretches that Wayne, NJ, podiatrists highly recommend:
Calf Stretch:
Keep your calves loose by pushing your hands flat against a wall at about chest-level.
Move your right leg forward and bend your knee with the foot flat on the floor, and then extend your left leg straight back. Stretch the leg back and then make sure the back heel is also flat on the ground. Be careful to keep the back leg straight – don’t bend that back knee. Lean into the wall until you feel the stretch in the calf of the straight leg. Hold this for thirty seconds and then switch legs. Repeat twice for a total of three sets per leg. You can perform this stretch daily and up to three times a day if necessary.
Tennis Ball Stretch:
This stretch massages your arch and also stretches your plantar fascia and the bottom of your foot. It can relieve tightness of the tissue that can cause painful plantar fasciitis.
While sitting, you can place the arch of your foot on a tennis ball and roll it back and forth with the arch of your foot. In time, you can progress to doing this stretch while standing.
Towel Pull:
Tight hamstrings are common and this simple stretch can help. You sit on the floor or a mat with your knees bent. Position a towel under the middle of your left foot with your hands holding each end of the towel. Lie back, with your back on the floor, and raise your left leg while maintaining your grip on the towel with both hands. Keep the leg straight and raise it as high as you can. Hold the stretch for thirty seconds and then repeat with your right leg.
These are just a few simple stretches that will help keep your legs limber and more flexible, helping to alleviate unnecessary stress on your feet that might cause problems. Your Wayne, NJ, podiatrists are happy to answer questions or provide much more information! Give us a call today!
This information is not meant as medical advice. It is provided solely for education. Our podiatry office in Wayne, NJ would be pleased to discuss your unique circumstances and needs as they relate to these topics.
Meet Wayne Foot & Ankle Center
Your Top-Rated Podiatrists In Wayne, NJ
Wayne Foot & Ankle Center, located in Wayne, NJ, and West Milford, NJ, treat all medical and surgical foot and ankle conditions, such as foot pain, heel pain and ankle pain.
Dr. Bruce Calligaro, Dr. Jennie Chau and Dr. Lindsey Calligaro, our podiatrists in Wayne, NJ and West Milford, NJ, can help bring you foot and ankle pain relief.
Our New Jersey podiatrists and staff of our two podiatry offices offer the most effective and state-of-the-art, quality podiatry care services with a smile to all patients.
Return to a pain-free life and get back to the things you love!
